We had been using Skype since December of 2007. For Christmas we gave my mother and ourselves a webcam so that we could talk to her in Michigan and she could see the Grandkids more often.

It works great. For Free.

Skype also has VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) capabilities. I needed long distance, I wanted it cheap.

Phone and DSL in Grafton through Verizon $50 plus, no long distance. So it was already $20 more than Lakewood ATT.

I just bought a house, and I am a cheapskate. Some call it Fiscally conscious.

With Skype we would be able to call anywhere in the USA for $3 a month (even less if we pay for a year at one time). But would it work?

Only one way to find out. I bit the bullet and paid $3. I then pulled out a headset I had which never worked on dial up. And pow! Zing! I was calling people outside of Grafton. Miracle of Miracles. It was awesome, it was amazing it was $3.

So what’s the catch? $3 sounds too good right?

Well for $3 Skype I can all any number in the good ole USA. But no one can call me unless they are on the computer using Skype. (which my mother already has done). Caller ID doesn’t like you, so you will leave a lot of messages until people know how you look on Caller ID Until…

For another $3 or $4 bucks a month, you can get a phone number anywhere in the USA. You can buy up to 10 numbers for your Skype name. For now I have a Cleveland local number for the majority of my family to call as local.

So I’ve got cheap long distance a local number for my family to call all for $53.50 per year (if paid in advance. You can pay monthly, but annually effectively gave me 2 free months.)

You can purchase free standing skype phones that don’t need the computer to be on. They plug into your router or access via wifi. They cost more but could be very useful.

LONG STORY short. I love Skype.

Skype for Long Distance and Local calling $3 a month or $30 a year.
Skype phone number $24 a year.
Voicemail included in calling plan. (We don’t use it much yet)
Other features are available that I don’t use. But you might.